A dog who was found in a crate during a house fire is alive thanks to firefighters who revived it.

Crew Saves Dog From Fire

Firefighters worked together to save an unresponsive
dog found stuck in a crate during a fire at a home in Oakland, California, Wednesday. The dog was carried out to the sidewalk during the early morning blaze. One firefighter held an oxygen mask over the dog’s nose while a second gently stroked it on its side in a video captured by another member of the crew. Luckily, the dog responded to the treatment and started breathing on its own. “We are happy to report the
dog is doing well!” the Oakland Firefighters Local 55 union
wrote in a Facebook post. — Read it and watch it at
NBC Bay Area

Whale Entanglements Hit Alarming Rate in California

Experts are blaming an unusual warming trend in the Pacific Ocean for a spike in the number of whales getting entangled in fishing gear. There have been more than 60 of these incidents so far this year — a 400 percent increase over the average. Scientists believe the warmer water is influencing the whales’ feeding patterns. They’re following their prey closer to shore, which puts them on a collision course with fishermen, lobstermen and crabbers. Now some crabbers are being trained to photograph any entangled whales they see, call them in to a hotline and keep an eye on them until authorities arrive. Unfortunately, highly trained rescue teams are only able to free a small percentage of the whales that become entangled. — Read it from the
AP via Yahoo

Rare Eagle Hatched in Philippines

A critically endangered Philippine eagle has been hatched in captivity. The raptor, which is known for feeding on macaque monkeys and other small animals, is found only in the tropical rainforests of the Philippines, which are rapidly vanishing. The chick hatched Monday at a
conservation center. "This chick will make it," said
Philippine Eagle Foundation curator Anna Mae Sumaya. She said the week-old chick is already “very active,” lifting its head and responding to
bird calls. The species has a 2-meter wingspan that makes it one of the largest eagles in the world, and it's found only in the Philippines. The eagle is critically endangered due to hunting and habitat loss. — Read it at
Discovery News

Bastak Reserve

Cinderella, who was rehabilitated as an orphaned cub, has given birth in the wild.

Rehabbed Tiger Gives Birth in Wild

A tiger in Russia’s Bastak Reserve has made history. Cinderella, who was orphaned as a cub and nursed back to health, is the first rehabilitated Amur tiger to give birth in the wild. Zolushka, whose Russian name translates to “Cinderella,” has been photographed with two young cubs. She was found by hunters in February 2012, when she was just a 4-month-old cub herself, starving and alone. It’s believed that her mother was a victim of poachers. She was rehabilitated but kept away from humans so she wouldn’t become acclimated to them, and prepared to return to the wild. When she was about 20 months old, in May 2013, she was released in the reserve. “This is a watershed event not just for Zolushka, but for the entire population of Amur tigers,”
said Wildlife Conservation Society Russia Director Dale Miquelle. “These births mark the return of tigers to habitat that had been lost, and the beginnings of a recovery and expansion of the last remaining Amur tiger population into habitat lost years ago.” — Read it at
Newsweek

Cat Photobombs Family Photo

A large holiday family photo was all set up and ready to go with a self-timer when someone else jumped in. The family
cat perfectly photobombed the picture, looking dead center into the camera lens while the rest of the family poses out-of-focus in the background. Not surprisingly, it’s gone viral. "That is much better than the family picture could have ever been," wrote one commenter on Reddit. "Are you sure the family didn't photobomb the cat's picture?" wrote another. The photo might make the best holiday card you’d get this year! — See photo at the U.K.’s
Telegraph